This invention relates to improvements in collapsible, relatively portable standards and booms which may, for example, be used as space dividers by hanging curtains or the like from the extended booms. The invention also is concerned with an improved connection between the standard and boom which permits it to be pivoted between an upright and a collapsed position.
The invention may be used in a number of environments, for example, in hospital wards, to divide the individual bed areas from each other. Presently, when a number of adjacent beds in a room or ward are divided, this is done by hanging curtains by special tracks mounted to the ceiling of the room. Typically, these tracks assume an L-shaped configuration for each bed, extending along one side of the bed and across the foot of the bed. Among the difficulties with this practice is that the installation is comparatively permanent and that in the event it is desired to change the arrangement of beds, it then becomes necessary to detach the permanent tracks from the ceiling and, if possible, rearrange them to fit the new bed plan. This, of course, is time consuming, awkward and expensive in addition to the increased initial expense of the tracks. Other techniques have been proposed, for example, to attach a boom to the wall of the room and suspend a curtain from the boom. This approach also suffers from a number of the same difficulties encountered with the overhead track type of installation. They do not lend themselves to portability or easy rearrangement. Also, with the wall mounted booms, they have required special supporting structures to hold the weight of the curtain.
In brief, the present invention relates to a portable vertical standard from which a plurality of radial extending booms may be mounted. Each of the booms is attached to the standard by a specially constructed connection which permits the boom to be locked in its up, curtain-suspending position or, alternatively, to be folded to a downward position in which the boom parallels the standard. Means are provided to retain the curtain on the boom even when it is in its collapsed configuration. The boom is attached to the standard by a special connector including an L-shaped slot in which one leg of the slot is longer than the other. The slot receives a pair of spaced pins which extend from the boom. The boom may be locked in its upright position by raising it and permitting the spaced pins to fall into the vertically extending longer leg of the L-shaped slot. Means also are provided to enable the position of the connector and, therefore, the boom, to be varied along the length of the standard. If desired, the entire connection and the boom can be removed easily from the standard.
It is among the general objects of the invention to provide an improved connector between a standard and a boom which permits the boom to be locked in a raised position or, aternatively, collapsed.
Another object of the invention is to provide an improved connector of the type described which is of rugged, durable construction, has a minimal number of moving parts and which requires no supplemental reinforcing structure.
A further object of the invention is to provide an improved portable space divider.